Breaking Down Barriers: Advancing Toward Health Equity in Fertility Care for Black and Hispanic Patients.

Infertility can affect all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Barriers to quality fertility care include access, financial limitations, education, and social stigmas. Although racial disparities in outcomes of assisted reproductive technology can be largely attributed to the influences of systemic racism (not race), we can make changes to improve equity of care. We propose strategies in the areas of advocacy, clinical setting, community, and outcomes to address the racial disparities.

The hypergonadotropic hypogonadism conundrum of classic galactosemia.

BACKGROUND: Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism is a burdensome complication of classic galactosemia (CG), an inborn error of galactose metabolism that invariably affects female patients. Since its recognition in 1979, data have become available regarding the clinical spectrum, and the impact on fertility. Many women have been counseled for infertility and the majority never try to conceive, yet spontaneous pregnancies can occur. Onset and mechanism of damage have not been elucidated, yet new insights at the molecular level are becoming available that might greatly benefit our understanding. Fertility preservation options have expanded, and treatments to mitigate this complication either by directly rescuing the metabolic defect or by influencing the cascade of events are being explored. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE: The aims are to review: the clinical picture and the need to revisit the counseling paradigm; insights into the onset and mechanism of damage at the molecular level; and current treatments to mitigate ovarian damage. SEARCH METHODS: In addition to the work on this topic by the authors, the PubMed database has been used to search for peer-reviewed articles and reviews using the following terms: 'classic galactosemia', 'gonadal damage', 'primary ovarian insufficiency', 'fertility', 'animal models' and 'fertility preservation' in combination with other keywords related to the subject area. All relevant publications until August 2022 have been critically evaluated and reviewed. OUTCOMES: A diagnosis of premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) results in a significant psychological burden with a high incidence of depression and anxiety that urges adequate counseling at an early stage, appropriate treatment and timely discussion of fertility preservation options. The cause of POI in CG is unknown, but evidence exists of dysregulation in pathways crucial for folliculogenesis such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B, inositol pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase, insulin-like growth factor-1 and transforming growth factor-beta signaling. Recent findings from the GalT gene-trapped (GalTKO) mouse model suggest that early molecular changes in 1-month-old ovaries elicit an accelerated growth activation and burnout of primordial follicles, resembling the progressive ovarian failure seen in patients. Although data on safety and efficacy outcomes are still limited, ovarian tissue cryopreservation can be a fertility preservation option. Treatments to overcome the genetic defect, for example nucleic acid therapy such as mRNA or gene therapy, or that influence the cascade of events are being explored at the (pre-)clinical level. WIDER IMPLICATIONS: Elucidation of the molecular pathways underlying POI of any origin can greatly advance our insight into the pathogenesis and open new treatment avenues. Alterations in these molecular pathways might serve as markers of disease progression and efficiency of new treatment options.

The Burden and Benefits of Knowledge: Ethical Considerations Surrounding Population-Based Newborn Genome Screening for Hearing.

Recent advances in genomic sequencing technologies have expanded practitioners' utilization of genetic information in a timely and efficient manner for an accurate diagnosis. With an ever-increasing resource of genomic data from progress in the interpretation of genome sequences, clinicians face decisions about how and when genomic information should be presented to families, and at what potential expense. Presently, there is limited knowledge or experience in establishing the value of implementing genome sequencing into newborn screening. Herein we provide insight into the complexities and the burden and benefits of knowledge resulting from genome sequencing of newborns.

How a woman's myomectomy saved her father's life: evidence of fumarate hydratase-deficient uterine leiomyoma and early detection of germline variants in fumarate hydratase.

Objective: To describe a case of a personal and family history of early uterine leiomyomatosis that revealed a pathogenic variant in the FH gene encoding fumarate hydratase. After the patient's diagnosis, a first-degree relative was detected with early-stage renal cell carcinoma. The patient decided to undergo preimplantation genetic testing to reduce the risk to her future children. Design: A case report of autosomal dominant hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer syndrome where the patient underwent 2 cycles of in vitro fertilization with preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disease/aneuploidy (PGT-MA) that resulted in 3 unaffected, euploid embryos. Setting: Large academic single-center hospital. Patients: A 35-year-old nulligravida woman with a personal history of an early-onset uterine leiomyomatosis and a family history of renal cell carcinoma and uterine leiomyomas, who is heterozygous for a pathogenic variant in FH and diagnosed with hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer syndrome. Informed consent was obtained. Interventions: Two laparoscopic myomectomies were performed, and tissue was sent for histopathology and immunostaining. Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer syndrome was confirmed by germline testing, and 2 cycles of PGT-MA were performed. Main Outcome Measures: Through PGT-MA, the patient was able to mitigate the risk of passing a known familial variant to her future children. Results: After 2 cycles of in vitro fertilization with PGT-MA, 3 unaffected embryos were available for transfer. An unaffected, euploid embryo was transferred for pregnancy, and the patient is currently pregnant in her second trimester. Conclusions: Pathogenic variants in FH should be suspected in patients with early-onset uterine leiomyomas and a family history of cutaneous and/or uterine leiomyomas. Familial variant testing is crucial in identifying relatives at risk to start early screening.

Analysis of Serum Anti-Mullerian Hormone Values for Puerto Rican Women Presenting to a Fertility Center.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the AMH levels in Puerto Rican women presenting to a fertility clinic. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study involving the acquisition of measured AMH levels from patient records dating October 2012- October 2014 (N=250). AMH levels determined by laboratory values were obtained. Data were stratified by age groups (25-29, 30-35, 35-39, 40+). Each dataset was represented as an AMH value at a single time point to determine median, mean and standard deviation for each group. Percentage of change for values were calculated comparing to previous corresponding age group and each group to 25-29 (subset 1) to evaluate declining trend. RESULTS: A total of 250 records were evaluated. The data was segregated into 4 different age groups and their means, medians, and standard deviations were calculated individually. Age group 25-29 AMH values with a mean of 4.94, a standard deviation of 3.17, and a median of 4.75. Age group 30-34 AMH values: mean 4.30, standard deviation 5.63, and median 3.2. Age group 35-39 AMH values: mean 2.58, standard deviation 4.83, median 1.3. Age group 40 + AMH values: mean 1.29, standard deviation 1.54, median 0.85. Results showed a reduction of 47.7% and 73.8% when values of AMH were calculated for ages 35-39 and 40+ and compared to 25-29 years, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate AMH levels among Puerto Rican women presenting to a fertility clinic supporting a decline of AMH with advancing age.